A prosthetic ligament for use in reconstructive surgery is disclosed.
A ligament is a band of tissue, usually white and fibrous, that serves to connect bones. For example, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) connects the femur to the tibia. A torn ACL is the most common serious ligamentatious injury to the knee joint. Miyasaka, K. et al, xe2x80x9cThe Incident of Knee Ligament Injuries and the General Population,xe2x80x9d American Journal of Knee Surgery, 4:3-8, 1991.
Prior attempts have been made to create a suitable prosthetic ligament, but none have received acceptance by the medical community. Those prior attempts include prosthetic ligaments made from: single filament and multi-filament expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), see Bolton, C. W. et al, xe2x80x9cThe GORE-TEX(trademark) Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Prosthetic Ligament,xe2x80x9d Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 196:202-213, Jun. 1985; multi-filament polyethylene terephthalate (PET), see U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,819; and lightly or tightly braided polyester filaments, see U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,543. These materials failed because over time the reconstructed knee lost stability that arose from fibril breakage caused by flexing fatigue or rubbing, and/or filament stretching (creep). See Young, F. A. et al, xe2x80x9cArtificial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Research At The Medical University Of South Carolina,xe2x80x9d MUSC Orthopaedic Journal, 3:37-38, Jun. 2000.
Accordingly, there is a need for a prosthetic ligament that overcomes the problems described.
A prosthetic ligament includes a cord of thermotropic liquid crystal filaments. The cord preferably comprises multi-filament thermotropic liquid crystal filaments. The cord has an eye spliced at each of its ends.